NOTE: Registration for the 2015 Audio Client Conference is closed. Please check back regularly for updates about the 2016 Audio Client Conference.

The Nielsen Audio Client Conference is radio's premier event for programmers, brand managers and senior executives who want to stay ahead of the major issues shaping the listening landscape.

Over two intensive days outside of Washington, D.C., invited guests will hear about Nielsen’s latest methodologies, programming insights and audience trends. We’ll also spotlight progressive thinkers from other industries and learn how they manage their brands and create experiences that cut through the clutter of today’s crowded media world.

In addition, the half-day Urban PD Clinic will kick off the event; there we'll dive into programming concepts for Urban-format stations.

The Nielsen Audio Client Conference has a 20-year history of bringing together the brightest minds in radio programming, branding and marketing. This year we’ll focus on the Total Audio landscape, and attendees will be treated to a robust lineup of speakers, presentations, performers and panels that will address the following:

The importance of personalities in a content-heavy world

Radio’s place in the music ecosystem and how consumer tastes are changing

Engaging audio consumers across multiple platforms

Critical programming tactics for both Diary and PPM market customers

How Nielsen is preparing for the future of audio measurement

The Nielsen Audio Client Conference is open to Nielsen clients, their consultants and researchers, and clients of the Radio Research Consortium.

Venue

201 Waterfront Street
National Harbor, MD 20745
Phone: (301) 965-4000

The Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center is located just south of the Washington beltway’s Wilson Bridge (Route I-495) on the banks of the Potomac River, and within sight of downtown D.C.

Guests are encouraged to arrive on Wednesday, December 2nd in time for Thursday morning’s opening sessions and Urban PD Clinic. The conference will conclude by noon (Eastern Time) on Friday.

This year’s venue is convenient to three major airports as well as Washington’s Union Station for Amtrak regional train service:

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) is only 8 miles from the convention center, with an approximate travel time of 30 minutes and an estimated one-way taxi fare of $25.

Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is 35 miles from the convention center, with an approximate travel time of 50 minutes and an estimated one-way taxi fare of $70.

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is 42 miles from the convention center, with an approximate travel time of 60 minutes and an estimated one-way taxi fare of $70.

Washington Union Station (WAS) and Amtrak regional train service is 10 miles from the convention center, with an approximate travel time of 35 minutes and an estimated one-way taxi fare of $30

For more details about transportation options, please visit the resort’s .

Agenda

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Registration opens Thursday at 6:45 AM in Magnolia 3. All sessions will take place in the Cherry Blossom Ballroom.

A look back at the major storylines in urban radio during 2015 including the rise of Classic Hip-Hop, the continued success of Urban Contemporary and how daily tuning is a fundamental key to ratings success.

Nielsen Entertainment will present a holistic look at how urban music fans keep in touch with their favorite artists, how they engage with music through digital and mobile platforms, and the role music plays in their perceptions and consumer tastes.

Mobile devices are an increasingly important part of our daily media lives, particularly for African American consumers and heavy radio users. DMR Interactive will share insights into how to activate your super fans through a mobile marketing lens and amplify the power of your brand.

Nielsen’s audio product leaders and engineering experts will walk you through an update on our most important methodology and measurement enhancements and provide insight into how we are preparing for the future. During this can’t-miss session, you’ll learn about the company’s global push to deliver total audience metrics (including audio, video and digital), the latest on measuring digital audio through our SDK technology and also hear from Nielsen’s engineering and encoding experts on the work we are doing to introduce enhanced CBET technology and new monitoring capabilities to PPM markets. Last up, we’ll conclude with a Q&A segment.

Why Radio Matters (and Why Programming and Sales Must be Attached at the Hip)

Our lunchtime presentation will feature Erica Farber from the Radio Advertising Bureau to lend her perspective on where radio fits in the daily lives of millions of Americans, and why in an increasingly fragmented world sales and programming must be entirely on the same page in order to create powerful station brands that stand out.

New this year, Nielsen Interactive will showcase live demonstrations of our latest audience measurement technologies and collaborations. Get a hands-on look at the PPM encoding and decoding process, how we turn brainwaves into consumer insights, tools for quantifying the sales impact of audio ads and a startup company that creates an after-market for spoken word radio content.

1:30 PM

Now In Session: The Class of 2015

Digital natives are graduating from college and bringing a media revolution to the rest of us. In our never-before-seen in its entirety Class of 2015 study, we followed a group of students at the University of Florida during their four years on campus to gain a better understanding of their views on media, entertainment, and life in general. What does this mean for radio and how you approach your audiences? Join us during this blockbuster session to find out.

Dr. Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, Professor of Telecommunication, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications

2:30 PM

The [New York] Times, They Are A-Changing

The New York Times reaches millions of consumers around the globe. Get a glimpse into how a heritage media brand is adapting to the digital and mobile world from both a content and platform perspective, in a candid conversation with Product Director Paul Werdel.

There’s more to mobile apps for radio stations than simply streaming your on-air product. Podcasts, videos, games and contests are all on the table in today’s hyper-mobile world. Join Jacobs Media and a panel of industry experts to review some new mobile ideas and the strategies and people behind them.

Are your listeners more likely to switch over from another station, or to turn you on in the moment when they decide to use radio? Coleman Insights and Media Monitors will present some groundbreaking findings about the behavior of PPM panelists during the moments when they land on your station, and also when they leave, and what this means for your station’s strategy.

Podcasting and Radio: How Broadcasters Can Engage Audiences and Generate Revenue with On-Demand Audio

A look at the state of podcasting today and a preview of what’s to come from Jacobs Media. Learn how radio stations can leverage their resources to enter the world of podcasting and create new revenue streams.

A follow-up to one of 2013’s most popular sessions, our final session of the day will welcome BMI recording artist Randy Bachman of Bachman-Turner Overdrive and the Guess Who to perform, share stories and talk about how digital platforms have changed the music industry from both a listener perspective as well as an artist’s, and what the future looks like as a content creator.

During our cocktail reception to conclude Thursday, Nielsen Interactive will showcase live demonstrations of our latest audience measurement technologies. Get a hands-on look at the PPM encoding and decoding process, how we turn brainwaves into consumer insights, tools for quantifying the sales impact of audio ads and a startup company that creates an after-market for spoken word radio content.

Progressive political commentator, comedian and host of her own syndicated national radio show, Stephanie Miller will join Edison Research’s Larry Rosin for a look at how political tastes are changing the radio landscape and how to cut through in the increasingly crowded field of political commentary.

Today’s media world is saturated not just with content, but with advertising messages and successful brands must reward their consumers with great work. Jim Elliott is the Global Creative Officer for Arnold Worldwide and works with brands such as Jack Daniel’s, Carnival Cruise Lines and Progressive Insurance. Hear the lessons he’s learned in brand building and how to stand out and cut through the audio wallpaper.

Millennials 360: The Music Habits of America’s Most Connected Consumers

Nielsen Entertainment’s yearly survey of U.S. music fans yields a highly informative, 360-degree view into how Millennials are discovering, downloading, streaming and buying music and where radio fits in that audio ecosystem.

We’re pairing two of radio’s biggest names to talk about the importance of personality in making great radio. Zach Sang from Westwood One and Mark Thompson from Entercom, both from totally different backgrounds and with very different approaches, represent two generations of on-air personalities who reap the same results--highly successful shows that have impact beyond the dial and with passionate followings across multiple platforms.

Learn more about the latest tactics and insights from Nielsen’s programming and music experts. Why every day matters in PPM, how streaming compliments radio, the influence of Hispanic listeners on the radio landscape, software insights and more.